South Korea and the European Union are calling on North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear program as soon as possible.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun discussed the nuclear standoff with EU officials in a meeting Saturday in Helsinki. Mr. Roh is in the Finnish capital for a two-day Asia-Europe summit that begins Sunday.
Following the talks, Mr. Roh and the EU issued a joint statement urging Pyongyang to rejoin the six-party nuclear talks, which were last held in November. The two sides also criticized North Korea's ballistic missile tests in July.
Pyongyang has boycotted the nuclear negotiations to protest U.S. sanctions against North Korean-linked companies. The U.S. has accused the companies of involvement in money laundering for Pyongyang.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
